Would A Serious Runner Buy This Shoe?

Yesterday, as I was skimming through the headlines on TechCrunch.com, one of the headlines immediately caught my attention. “Nike just unveiled the first real power-lacing sneaker, the HyperAdapt 1.0.” They can’t be serious, I whispered to myself. This has to be limited run sneaker designed to for shoe loving eccentrics. After all, Nike ran a successful fundraiser for parkinsons disease last year by producing a limited 1,500 pair run of the shoes worn by Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future 2.

As I clicked into the article about the first real power-lacing sneaker, I found out that Nike was dead serious. Although no price or launch date has been set for the shoes, they are rumored to come out in time for the holiday shopping season.

The next thought that came into my mind was, who would buy these shoes? I texted a link to the article to my brother and another close friend of mine who are serious shoe junkies. Both my brother and my friend texted me back in under a minute with the same reply? HOW MUCH???!!! I want a pair of these! Well done Nike, apparently there is a market for these shoes. After texting the only two shoe junkies in my phone, my thoughts turned to my friends in the world of distance running? Would any of my serious running friends buy these shoes? Would an elite marathoner be willing to trust their feet to this technology? Most distance runners I know are very particular about their running shoes. When I buy a pair of running shoes, I am always sure to have the sales associate at my local running store lace my shoes up in the manner that I have grown to love over the last 20 years. Can a self-lacing shoe truly adjust to just the right pressure in just the right places? The laces don’t look moveable in these new Nike’s. Lacing your shoes is so important to avid distance runners that every year, Runner’s World dedicates page space to the various ways runner’s can lace their shoes. Here is an image with examples of just four different styles.

Now, check out the promotional video below. While the Nike HyperAdpat shoes pressure can be adjusted with the buttons on the side, can the laces themselves be adjusted?

I’m sure it won’t break Nike’s heart, but I am not sold on their self-lacing shoes. I am a HUGE fan of new technology. In fact, I own four different fitness tracking devices. That being said, these shoes just seem gimmicky and I am not going to trust my feet to a gimmick.

So, what do all of you think? Would you buy a pair of Nike’s new HyperAdapt shoes???

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